The Sick Wolf
by Witch4
Summary: What happens when RJ gets sick and no one can take care of him? They call in the sick-RJ experts! Story 3 of the Owl Series.
1. Calling for Back Up

Another tale in what my beta reader has dubbed "The Owl Series." Enjoy.

The Sick Wolf-Chapter 1-Calling for Back-Up

RJ was one of the most zen-like men around. In fact, he was known for being zen in even the most life-threatening situations, and in his life there were many. So it was a big surprise to his friends when RJ caught the flu and became the most uncooperative patient in the history of uncooperative patients.

"Thank you so much for coming, Master Finn," Casey said as he showed the Shark Master to the room where the older man's son was currently residing. "You were the only person we could think of to call."

"You were right to call me," he told his student after looking in on his now-unconscious son. Ena was out of town visiting her own Owl Master and wasn't in cell phone range, so the Tiger cub had called the only other person who could probably deal with a sick RJ.

"Although, from what you told me, I might not be the best person to deal with him in this situation. In fact, there is only one person I can think of who might be able to get him to cooperate."

"We already thought about asking Ena, but she's visiting Master Hoot and we can't get a hold of her," Lily said as she joined them.

"Not Ena; although she does know a number of medicines that could make him feel better. I'm talking about someone who can slap some sense into him. Where is your phone?" he asked as he tried to remember the right phone number.

"Over here," Lily showed him the almost 30-year-old phone ("Cordless phones make it way too simple to be inconvenienced," was what RJ had said after many complaints about the rotary dial) after which the two rangers left him alone to make his call as they returned to manning the store front with Theo, Fran, and Dominic.

* * *

"So? Can Master Finn help with RJ?" Theo asked as his friends returned to the pizzeria.

"Not exactly," Casey answered as he picked up his order pad and began waiting tables.

"What does he mean 'not exactly'?" Theo asked Lily as she helped him with a pizza.

"Master Finn said he needed to call in reinforcements to help with RJ. Someone who can, and I quote,'slap some sense into him.' Do you think he's calling RJ's mom?"

"RJ's mom is at one of those ninja academies for the next week and unreachable," Fran told them as she came back to the kitchen to pick up an order of spaghetti. "Remember? He was talking to that guy named Cam who mentioned that she had passed through his school a few days before?"

"Oh yeah! Then who is Master Finn calling? Ena's somewhere in the Appalacians and unreachable."

"I guess we'll find out when they get here. And that is one Cheesy Cheetah Supreme ready for the oven," she said as she brought the raw pizza to the oven where it would be cooked for precisely 9.75 minutes before being served to some hungry customers.


	2. Panther Calling

Yay! Reviews (okay, one, but still)!

Chapter 2-Panther Calling

As Ann rode her motorcycle down Highway 1, she went over the strangest call she had ever received. "Come to Jungle Karma Pizza. RJ's sick." No "Hello. How are you?" Just an urgent summons. Knowing RJ, he'd probably caught some minor flu bug and was driving everyone bananas. That man was the world's worst patient and she was the only one who could get him to behave, but she also had the patience to deal with the whining that usually came with RJ being sick. At least, that's how Master Cerberus had explained it, and that man had the patience of a saint (bernard).

She soon spotted the exit sign for Ocean Bluff and took it, winding her way through the dense forest that surrounded the city. Five left turns, one right turn and one U-turn and she was at Jungle Karma Pizza. Obviously the people here weren't entirely used to a girl riding up to this place on a motorcycle because the looks she was getting were a bit annoying and disconcerting, all rolled into one.

When she entered JKP, she made a bee-line for the swinging door that she knew from past experience led to the stairs that led to RJ's loft. Waving to Fran as she walked past, she soon ascended the stairs and found Master Finn meditating on the green and blue yoga mat that RJ kept for visitors who wanted to meditate, stretch, or contemplate the galaxy.

"So, where is he?" she asked as she began removing her leather jacket, placing it, her gloves, helmet and shoes around a small table he kept for his motorcycle riding-inclined friends.

"Up in his room," the Shark Master replied, standing up to greet her. "I'm glad you could come."

"No one else in the world knows how to properly deal with him when he's like this," she said as she hugged him. "So how is he?"

"It's just the flu, but you know what he's like when he gets sick. His students don't know what to do and Ena is visiting Master Hoot."

"So I guess I'm going to have my work cut out for me," she said as she followed him to the Wolf Master's room.

* * *

"Hey Fran? Who was that girl that just walked upstairs?" Casey asked his friend.

"Casey! Fran! We just saw some girl go upstairs! Do you know who she is?" Theo asked as he and Lily walked out from the kitchen.

"Back inside! We've got orders to fill; hungry people to serve! Go!" she told the rangers

"What girl are you guys talking about?" Dominic asked them as he joined them at the door to the back.

"The one dressed in black that just went upstairs," Lily told him.

"That was Ann. I guess she's the one that Master Finn called. She's really cool; like a female, slightly more intense version of RJ."

"Wait, Ann's here? I haven't seen her since the academy!" Dominic told the others as he grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"So you know her? Can you tell us anything about her?" Casey asked.

"She and Ena are best friends. Whenever the three of us got in trouble, it was usually Ann who got us out. And whenever RJ got sick, she was the one who usually got him to stop whining."

"What's her animal spirit? Do you know?" Theo asked, now extremely intrigued by their new house guest.

"She's a master of the panther spirit," Master Finn told his son's students as he joined them in the kitchen. "She will be staying here until RJ is well again. And I believe that in the meantime, you five have a pizzeria to run for your sick boss. Everyone get to work!" With that, everyone knew that things would be okay.

* * *

"Hey Wolfboy," Ann said as RJ woke up from his fevered sleep.

"Ann? What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking care of your sick butt until Ena gets back from Master Hoot's," she told him as she helped him to sit up. "And drink all of this, it'll make you feel better."

RJ made a face as his nose got a whiff of the noxious brew she had handed him. "Man, that's rank! What's in it?" He gave it another sniff before taking a tentative sip. "Grandma Delfina's belch tea?!"

"Drink it! And it's not 'belch tea;' it's an all-natural tonic for helping the body deal with the flu. Now, drink!" After she had made sure that he had drunk all of the tonic, she let him go back to sleep. _Big baby,_ she thought as she went back to the loft's kitchen. _How will he ever get better if he doesn't try?_

* * *

Well, that was chapter 2. I hope you liked it!


	3. The Wolf Emerges

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. Life has been chaotic. It's a short chapter and after this only two more to go!

Chapter 3-The Wolf Emerges

Three days later, and the rangers and Fran, with the exception of Dominic who had to go greet his old friend, hadn't seen hide nor hair of the mysterious panther master known as Ann. The only evidence that she was even staying with them were her riding gear and the meals she left for them during their breaks.

"So, why haven't we seen her, Dom?" Casey asked on the third morning as the four healthy rangers ate their breakfasts.

"When it comes to dealing with a sick RJ, you need to be able to keep a steady eye on him since he's liable to end up doing something that won't help him get better and then whine about it afterwards."

"You mean like meditating, doing yoga, that sort of thing?" Theo asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because they're meditating over on the mat," the blue ranger replied as four pairs of eyes turned to the training mat.

Sure enough, a still pale-looking RJ and a harried-looking Ann were sitting on yoga mats on the training mat doing what appeared to be meditation. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that both Masters' lips were moving quickly as if they were chanting or...

"It's really iritating when you two do that, you know," Dominic told his friends.

"Do what? Dom, what were they doing?" Casey asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Talking about things and not including the rest of us in their conversation."

RJ opened his eyes and stared at the Rhino Ranger before nudging Ann and pointing to the four rangers staring at them in bewilderment. The two Masters stood slowly, RJ wobbling a bit as Dominic rushed to help Ann steady him before the tall Wolf Master could fall while still in his weakened state, before making their way to the kitchen area.

"Are you okay, RJ?" Lily asked, her den mother instincts kicking in as they did when it appeared that something was threatening one of her fellow rangers."Yeah; blood just rushed to my head. It was pretty awesome, by the way!" he answered as he took a seat at the counter.

"Only you could think a headrush was awesome," Ann told him, taking a seat and sipping from the tea that Lily had given her. "Thanks, Lily."

"So, I take it that since you're no longer hibernating in your den, that you're feeling better," Dominic said.

"Yep! Well, 85, but that's better than nothing, right?"

Nodding, the rangers returned to their breakfast. "So, Ann, you never explained how you know RJ, Dom, and Ena. Well, other than the four of you having gone to Pai Zhuq," Theo indirectly asked.

"Well, that's an interesting story," Dominic started. The younger rangers gathered around their teammates and the Panther Master, eager to hear how the mysterious woman had met their friends and Masters.

Just then, the door burst open to reveal...

* * *

Ooh, cliffhanger! Okay, two more chapters to go!


	4. The Owl Returns and the Story Begins

Chapter 4-The Owl Returns and the Story Begins

Just then, the door burst open to reveal one Athena Jane Smith, Owl Master and teacher to the rangers and Fran. Ena, as she was known to her friends, looked simultaneous anxious and annoyed as she sought out one familiar lean figure.

"RJ! I just got the messages! How are you feeling?" she asked as she rushed to her boyfriend, checking his forehead for a temperature, sighing as she found he was only slightly warmer than normal. Turning around she finally noticed the woman who had been caring for her "Wolf-boy" and let out an ear-piercing squeel.

"Ann! What are you doing here?! Wait, no, don't tell me, Master Finn called you. It's so good to see you; it's been ages!" The two women hugged and began talking extremely fast. So fast, in fact, that the only person who could understand them was Lily, who simply smirked at the confused faces of her team/roommates. Having enjoyed enough of the boys' confused faces, Lily stepped up to the two older women and asked them to "please explain what the heck is going on" before taking a seat next to her own boyfriend (Casey).

"Sorry, we just haven't seen each other in what-6 years?" Ena asked the other woman.

"Actually, it's been 6 years, 7 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days," Ann told her.

"Close enough."

"Could someone please explain to us what is going on? I believe we were offered an explanation as to who Ann was?" Theo asked as he put his plate in the sink and refilled his glass.

"First, there is one other person who should probably get in on the explanation, so we're going to want to wait about 30 seconds," Ena told them as she settled into a chair next to Dominic.

Sure enough, 30 seconds later a chirpy-looking Fran emerged from downstairs, her backpack bulging with what must have been a dozn books. Dominic got up and helped her with her burden, placing the bag on the special beanbag that the blonde man had declared solely Fran's shortly after they started their daily "read and meditate on what the author meant & it's implications in the universe" (as RJ had dubbed them) sessions before joining everyone back in the kitchen area. Ena and Fran hugged, with Fran asked when she'd gotten back and other such curtious questions.

"She got here about 10 minutes ago, Fran" Theo told the bespectacled brunette, his voiced laced with annoyance at having to once again wait to hear about the woman who had been taking care of his Master for the past 3 days. "Can we get on with it?" he asked the older adults (Lily, Casey, and Fran were only 1 year older them him, the others were 4 years older).

"Of course," Ann said. "You wanted to know why I'm the only person who can deal with RJ when he's being an uncooperative patient, right?"

"Right," Casey, Fran, Lily, and Theo said as they anxiously waited for their elders to explain to them what was going on.

"Well," RJ began. "Ann is my little sister."

"By 4 minutes," she added.

They pair were met with silence as the younger members of their group looked at them with surprise written all over their faces.

* * *

Yay, only one more chapter!


	5. The Twin Masters

The last chapter!

Chapter 5-The Twin Masters

Fran was the first to recover. "Wow," she breathed, having remembered that all-important bodily function necessary to living once Dominic touched her shoulder. "I mean, I figured that you two were related, what with you looking similar, but I didn't think you were twins," she said, remembering to breathe again.

"Twins? You two are twins? But your animals aren't the same! Is that even possible?" Theo asked, looking to his elders (all six of them) for some guidance and confirmation.

"It's rare, but it has been known to happen for twins to not have the same spirit," Ena told them.

"Of course, it was a great shock to our parents, who are both Masters of water-animal spirits when we decided to find our own animal spirits instead of going with tradition and becoming Masters of the Shark and Dolphin spirits," Ann said.

"But in the end, they were both proud of us and the fact that we had found the spirits we were destined to master," RJ added.

"Well, that does explain why Master Finn said that you were the only person who could knock some sense into RJ when he's sick," Casey said as he passed the pitcher of orange juice to Fran.

"And why Dom said that you were talking about things and not including the rest of us in your conversation. Twin Talk, right?" Theo asked, once again proud that he was a twin and now understanding why RJ had been so knowledgeable during his own brother Lewin's visit.

"Exactamundo, my student," RJ said after taking a sip of his orange juice. For once in his life he was glad that he had such forceful sister. If he'd been left to his own devices, he'd probably still be sick.

"Well, now that that's settled," Lily said as she got up from her seat and grabbed her and Casey's now empty plates and walked over to the sink, "it's my turn to do the dishes, Casey and Dom need to start getting the kitchen ready for the 11:23 early lunch rush and Fran and Theo, there's a list of groceries we need for today's special. Can you get them at the grocer's, please?" She turned to three Masters. "And as for you three; Ann, Ena, could you two please start getting the store front ready? It's RJ's turn, but since he's only feeling 85 better, it would be nice if we had some extra help."

"Sure, Lily! Come on, guys! Let's get ready for another day!" Ena, having gotten over her worry upon seeing the silent "everything will be all right" look on Lily's face, began ushering everyone downstairs so that they could get the day started off right.

Once everyone had disappeared down the stairs that led to JKP's kitchen, the Cheetah Ranger turned to her Master.

"All of these secrets are going to one day hurt everyone. Is there anything else that I should know before I let you go to your Chair?" she asked.

"Yes. Know that I didn't tell any of you this because Dom and Ena already knew and I never expected to get floored," he said in his oh-so-zen-like way before grabbing his glass of orange juice and carefully making his way down the stairs and towards his special chair. Lily looked after her Master before shaking her head and turning to the task at hand: tackling the morning dishes before piled up into the lunch and dinner dishes.

As the three younger Rangers and Fran worked that day, they wondered what else had the three, now four, eldest members of their little family kept from them. They might never know.

* * *

Okay, so that chapter was a little weird. Oh well. What did you think? Please review!


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